FIDDLED AWAY Synonyms: 35 Similar and Opposite Words

fiddled away

verb

past tense of fiddle away

as in spent

to use up carelessly fiddled away the entire evening surfing the Internet

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fiddled away

Verb

Campbell, a 69-year-old Democrat, spent years in the House and Senate before losing her seat in a primary race in 2018.

— Miami Herald staff, Miami Herald, 4 Nov. 2026
Donalds, 48, who spent most of his career in the finance industry, has served two terms in Congress and two terms in the Florida House.

— Catherine Welch, NPR, 4 Nov. 2026

Definition of spent

Verb

Republicans not only lost the House, but watched as their hope of keeping a Senate majority slipped away, too — a blue tsunami that was quickly interpreted as a rebuke of the president and his agenda.

— David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 4 Nov. 2026
The spot sparked national bipartisan backlash on grounds that Acton's mother had lost custody of her children decades ago after her husband, their stepfather, was indicted for raping Acton as a child.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 4 Nov. 2026

Definition of lost

Verb

The offense too often became chaotic, and the Rockets threw away several winnable games during the regular season because of poor execution.

— William Guillory, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2026
The affidavit against the suspects alleges the teens threw away Erving’s phone and clothing, ABC News and CBS News reported.

— Samira Asma-Sadeque, PEOPLE, 21 July 2026

Definition of threw away

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Cite this Entry

Style

“Fiddled away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fiddled%20away. Accessed 10 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of fiddled away

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

defer

Popular in Grammar & Usage

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes